Build Your Personality

Dental problems are often such that they need to be treated as soon as possible. In many cases, the longer one waits to get their dental problems fixed the more severe and extensive those problems become. Because of this, it is often in one's best interest to seek the services of an experienced, licensed emergency dentist. These Cypress dentists can service a variety of needs, and are able to do so without much advance notice.

These types of jobs are varied and comprised of many duties. An assistant may perform clerical and secretarial duties in the dental office. Some of these clerical duties include booking appointments, confirming patient appointments, processing and dealing with insurance, greeting and instructing patients upon their arrival, accepting payment for dental practices, and other bookkeeping duties. This is the secretarial part of dental assisting. Another duty that a job like this may require is work in the laboratory. Someone with this type of job may develop x-rays to deliver to the dentist for examination, process samples properly, or prepare molds and mixtures for use by the dentist.

They may also mold crowns and false teeth, or make casts of teeth from impressions. The laboratorial aspect of this job skill may, in some areas, require separate certification. In addition to clerical and medical duties, an assistant to a dentist may require hands-on medical patient care. This may include non-medical duties such as calming down a patient before the dentist arrives, making sure the room is prepared for the dentist, and taking a patient's history and information. But it can also include medical duties such as assisting the dentist during procedures; handing the dentist medical tools, sterilizing and cleaning medical tools, keeping a patient's mouth dry using suction, and assisting in tooth extraction and suturing.

How Are They Different from a Normal Dentist? There are a couple of factors that set an emergency dentist apart from an ordinary dental professional. The first of these is simply that their practices are uniquely equipped to handle patients who are experiencing oral emergencies. This means that they are often able to see patients on short notice whereas a family practice often requires that an appointment be made several days, or even weeks, in advance. A second advantage that these practices have is that they have doctors who are experienced in handling emergency situations. They understand the needs that patients who are experiencing emergencies have and the mindset that accompanies such situations.

Someone looking for an assisting job should be prepared to perform all three separate types of duties. They should have excellent manual dexterity, especially if their job will require them to help with direct medical patient care. A job seeker will benefit from getting certification or degrees in the field. Interning at Cypress dentist offices is one way to get both experience in the field and experience for your resume. The job outlook for dental assistants is good, particularly as dentists begin to require more help to handle an increasing patient load.